World Wildlife Week – October 1, 2009

By Jayashanker V S

It is an irrefutable fact that India is way behind other world countries when it comes to creating awareness among the public and their contribution towards wildlife conservation. Every year during the World Wildlife Week celebrations between October 1 and 7, the children, youth and the elderly are made to go through the customary set of activities leaving them with no or little insight into the ways and means of contributing to wildlife conservation.

Usually, the world wildlife week begins with batches of people being taken on guided walks through the various animal sanctuaries in different cities, and the tiger and lion safaris in the few national animal parks. And for children it is just fun time as they take part in the painting and elocution competitions with the theme being wildlife. Then what follows are the customary lectures on the alarming statistics on wildlife in India, the various animal welfare and conservation programmes and screening of the films and documentaries on wildlife.

But is this enough? Can these mere talk shows, guided tours and walks and thematic painting and elocution competition really help wildlife conservation? Sadly, only very little! I am not on a fault-finding mission here; these do help a bit create some awareness on the wildlife scenario and the ‘ongoing’ conservation efforts in the country but the more important aspect of public contribution are completely ignored.

Conservation is about understanding, and practising small things that could make a big difference in the lives of our canine friends! There has to be workable programmes introduced, beyond the traditional week long wildlife celebrations inside the tall walls of the sanctuaries and the open fields of the national parks, which would inculcate the active participation of everyone in the society towards wildlife conservation!

Need of the hour: Taking cues from the global wildlife conservation efforts
The action should start from the streets, and at our homes! And remember, these conservation activities cannot afford to stop after one or two weeks; it is a long term vision and has to go on and on till we have healthy figures on par with international standards.

Take for instance some of the programmes launched by the various wildlife federations across the globe. The U.S-based National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has active wildlife conservation programmes for children and adults. The idea is to make kids understand the importance of wildlife conservation and start early! For example, there is the children magazine on wildlife, wild animal baby music CDs, and DVDs, and the most popular attractive scheme called ‘wild animal baby adoption center.’ No! It does not mean that children are asked to adopt a wild animal and raise it! It is a symbolic wildlife adoption by paying a small amount which will help the NWF towards wildlife conservation. Children make small donations to gift themselves the certificates of adoption, a free plush animal, a wild animal baby story card and much more interesting stuff.

This serves the twin purpose of creating awareness and helping wildlife conservation. Camping tips are also held where kids build tents and spend time to study the animals around them. Children are also encouraged to clean up their backyards, plant the right mix of plants and help create a haven for wildlife and their pets.

Global warming – Your small efforts can make big difference in wildlife conservation
Forests are the homes of many wild animals and deforestation kills their habitat. Planting trees is an effective and viable solution to gift back the natural habitat to our canine friends. Global warming is equally bad to animals and wildlife conservation! Changes in temperature, water, food and their habitat have a negative impact on the health of the wildlife and in raising their young ones. Scientists around the world agree that cutting just 2 % of carbon emissions every year, that’s 80% over the next 40 years, we can avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

Our tiny little every day actions can make a big difference to help reduce global warming. By doing this we help ourselves and our fellow animal friends! Go green! Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, adjust your thermostat, and join the ‘lights off’ campaign. You can also turn off lights when you don’t need them! Check how your computer can be tweaked to save energy and reduce global warming. Adopt high fuel efficiency standards for your vehicles. Even the kind of clothes you wear can help reduce global emission. It is being said that the production process for a cotton T-shirt blended with polyester uses petrochemicals and releases roughly 10 times the shirt’s weight in carbon dioxide.

The furniture we buy also adds to the destruction of tropical rainforests around the globe. This in turn adversely affects the wildlife habitat and their future. This doesn’t mean that you should not buy furniture at all. It simply means buying only certified furniture that will help protect rainforests and wildlife like furniture made out of wheat panels, sunflower board, aluminium, polywoods, wrought irons, metals, and stones. For example, in the U.S the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has certified some companies making and selling outdoor and garden furniture. Choosing FSC-certified Garden furniture ensures that forests are managed to protect water, soil, and wildlife habitat in addition to providing wood products.

Similarly, solar powered products can help greatly reduce carbon emissions and help us and the wildlife. Choose wisely eco-friendly electronic items like cell phones, TV and other gizmos that could help in reducing global warming and wildlife conservation.

Corporate responsibility can help in a big way in cutting global warming and in wildlife conservation. With a little initiative, corporate houses can turn their backyards and farms into eco-friendly garden and a wildlife-friendly habitat.

e-way and wildlife conservation
With blogging being widely used today, spreading awareness on wildlife conservation and sharing stories of how global warming has affected your neighbourhood wildlife could well make a huge difference. All that is needed is a little understanding and effort.

Stock taking
How many of us know about the number of wildlife sanctuaries and wildlife national parks in India? Many of us have heard about Project Tiger but do we know what is being done to protect them? How many of us do our bit in our everyday lives to reduce global warming? Are you an active animal activist? Take a pledge today and help you, others and our beloved animals. Remember, it’s their world too!